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Quality vs Price

My grandfather owned a small grocery store back in the day when all grocery stores were small. His business survived long after the much bigger supermarkets came on the scene.

His successful business was built on one simply philosophy: price without quality is waste.

I’ve always kept that philosophy in mind whenever I was considering a major purchase. It was in mind a few weeks ago as my wife and I were looking for a new bed for our guest room. My always bargain hunting bride spotted a “going out of business” sale at a furniture store near our house.

We found a bed that suited our needs and began talking with the friendly salesperson. One of the first things he told us about was the 10 year warranty on the frame and springs. My hard to fool wife asked who would honor the warranty if the store was out of business.

The salesperson assured us we didn’t really need a warranty anyway because the beds were so well made. He then told us to decide about the purchase soon because “when they are gone they are gone for good.” We told him we would let him know and he almost immediately said that if they ran out they could make more after all.

We left. A salesperson who tells one lie will almost certainly tell another.

Price without quality is waste.

It’s entirely possible that the bed was the best bed ever made but “quality” isn’t only about the product you buy, it’s about the person you buy it from and the company they represent.

The product itself is at most a third to maybe half of what is known as the “value proposition.” Good salespeople have the ability to explain the full value proposition to their customers. The challenge is that there are not enough good salespeople to go around. So when we’re a buyer we usually have to figure out the real value proposition ourselves.

When considering the real value of your next big purchase remember that there is more to value than meets the eye. Real value comes from the expertise of the person selling you the product and the company that supports your purchase decision in the event that something goes wrong.

If the salesperson sells you a product that doesn’t meet your needs and there is no support after the sale then even the best price can quickly turn into a really bad deal.

Remember no price is a good price if the product doesn’t do want you need it to for as long as you expect it to do it.